Bump Slither
by SuperNatural1985
Summary: Nicky hears a mysterious noise in the middle of the night and thinking it's a monster he needs a full grown werewolves help to get rid of it- One shot


I own nothing except some original characters I sometimes bring in. Kelley Armstrong owns The Otherworld and all the wonderful information there.

Bump Slither

_Bump slither bump slither_ I lay in my bed covers pulled up to my eyes holding my breath and listening to the slithering and bumping sound coming from somewhere in my room. I looked around the semi darkness the nightlight only casting a small impression of safety on the big bedroom. I squinted trying to make my werewolf sight kick in so I could see the monster better. I wished Clay were here he could see the monster and scare it away all in one.

I glared into the four corners of my room in turn. One held my desk stacked with my book bag and some duo-tangs and papers as well as the drawing set my daddy brought home for me yesterday from his business trip to Germany. My eyes swept to the south west corner where my laundry was piled spilling out of the basket. I watched for a minute to see if I could see something moving. Seeing nothing my eyes went to the closest corner near my bed. My night stand almost touched the wall and I didn't think anything could get between it so I moved onto the last corner, north east. My _Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots _sat beside my dinky car track set that took up a big portion of the bedroom. I could see the part of the track where snivelley little Daniel broke it in anger last month. Poppa ordered us to play with Daniel and we decided to go to my room. Daniel didn't get the car he wanted and he broke the track. My daddy tried to glue it back together again but it was still a little twisted. I dismissed this corner and gathered my strength, threw off my covers and gripped the side of the bed with my hands so tightly my white knuckled shone in the dark.

_Bump slither_ hissed through the darkness. I froze and listened gripping the covers and holding my breath again. As quickly as I could I darted my hand out to the night side table and grabbed my _Playskool_ flashlight. I turned it on and changing the 3 coloured flashlight of the beam to bright yellow. Green and red wouldn't give me enough light right now. I slithered over the bed closer to the left hand side listening again. When I didn't hear a sound I gripped the side and slowly lowered myself over the bed gripping the light in one hand and the side of the mattress in the other. I lowered myself upside down to see under the bed flashing the flashlight under to look. A pair of red eyes glowered back at me, immediately I dropped the flashlight which went out. Screaming, I lost my grip on the bed and fell onto the floor with a thump scurrying back from the bed my hands behind me and my feet in front crablike.

"Nicky," I heard a loud voice yell and someone throw open the door a few moments later. Light flooded the room. I squinted as my poppa's figure filled the doorway. He looked around sensing danger, his face contorted in a snarl of anger as he came towards me and dropped down lifting me up to look me over for damage or any clues as to why I was on the floor terrified.

"Nicky, Dad," My father said in an frantic voice now stepping into the room and looking around to figure out what was going on before coming over to us and helping my poppa look me over. I grew annoyed wanting them to pay attention to the real monster, the noises and the red eyed thing under my bed. It had been seconds from gobbling me up like the Hansel and Gretel story my poppa read to me last night before bed.

"I'm ok...," I protested squirming or trying to squirm out of my poppa's grip looking at the bed and trying to see under it. Where had the monster gone? Was he scared of two full grown werewolves?

"Nicky, what's wrong?" my father asked following my gaze to the bed and back. I saw his nose scrunch as he sniffed to detect an alien scent.

"There's something under the bed, I saw it. It has red eyes," I panicked pointing under the bed frantically and looking at my father. Imploring him to fix this problem like he always did.

"Nicky, there nothing under...," my poppa started to say when the _bump slither_ sounded again. I jumped a little making a yipping sound like a wolf unintentionally and looked around wildly.

"There," I shrieked above his voice pointing randomly around the room trying to pin point the monster's hungry growling or maybe his angry attack noises.

"Over there. The monster, go kick his ass," I demanded of my poppa and my father absolutely authority trying to ring from my 8 year old body. In this regard I tried to be like Clay, he was the most authoritative 7 year old I knew.

"What is that?" my father asked as we stayed still and listened looking around. Now everyone tried to pin point the odd little noise ringing lowly throughout my room.

"It's the monster," I cried again as my poppa put up his hand for silence and listened. At the same time my poppa and father rose with me still in my poppa's arms and kept looking around for the source of the mysterious noise.

Poppa listened some more not hearing the noise for a moment. Finally he handed me to my father who started to carry me to the bed. The monster would get his feet though so I had to warn him. "No daddy, the monster," I hissed pointing under the bed and trying to halt his progress. My father chuckled and set me down on the floor. I stepped back in case the monster had long stretchy arms. Daddy then bent down looking under the bed, what if the monster clawed at his face? I gasped as he reached under, his hand disappeared and I was sure the monster ate it but then his hand came back out holding one of my metal robot toys with jewelled red eyes. The one my cousin Jorge got me for my birthday last year. I blushed as he explained what must have happened. I felt embarrassed that I wasn't as brave as Clay.

"Your flashlight must have bounced off his eyes," Antonio told me setting the toy to the side of the bed so I wouldn't step on it later.

"Come on little monster," he said holding his arms out for me. I scurried into his hold and he threw me on the bed, I bounced and giggled feeling the bed dip as he joined me. I crawled over to him again sitting in his lap as soon as he was settled and we both went back to watching poppa look around. We finally heard the noise again and I cuddled onto my father lap, his arms went around me shushing me as poppa walked to the wall and listened close to the left hand side. Suddenly he snarled which made me jump and strode from the room without a word. I was about to ask what he was doing when I heard him throw open a door down the hall and growl angrily.

"Jorge," he snarled my cousin's name and I stiffened. I didn't like it when poppa yelled at my cousins or uncles or anyone in my family especially my daddy which had been happening a lot nowadays. They argued about the business, about raising me and about stupid thing like daddy having a motorcycle. I liked daddy's motorcycle but I only got to go on one ride before my poppa forbade daddy to take me on again saying it irresponsible and if that he got me killed Antonio was next. I didn't think he meant it but poppa says a lot of things I am not sure he means and some I know he absolutely does.

"Poppa," I heard Jorge's confused voice ask. I heard him move maybe standing, I wasn't sure, but some kind of a movement before poppa spoke again.

"Are you scaring Nicky on purpose?" poppa yelled and I stiffened. When my poppa was mad he yelled and snarled. I had heard him yell at everyone in the pack at one time or another, everyone except me, Clay and Daniel.

"No, I didn't realize he could hear me. I was just working on my school project poppa," Jorge protested in a light voice. He was very light spoken and the quietest one in the Sorrentino household. It was an odd characteristic to have a soft spoken Sorrentino family member but Jorge was family.

"Go to bed," poppa roared and slammed Jorge's door. I shivered as my father held me closer kissing my hair as my poppa walked back into my room looking furious.

"Nicky, it was just Jorge. Go back to bed," he told me but didn't yell this time which I was thankful for. The times poppa did get a little mad at me I had been terrified of him for days. Poppa would never hurt me, daddy would never allow it, but poppa was an intimidating man and I didn't know someone who wasn't scared of him, even Clay was a bit intimidated. Poppa was also fair and wouldn't lay a finger on anyone who didn't absolutely deserve it.

"No, the closet," I said grabbing my father's arm as he started to rise settling me back on the bed as he did so. I pointed to the closed closet door convinced the monster had taken refuge there and that he would pop out the second all the grownups left. The monster would not be scared of a child werewolf that I knew.

"Nicholas," my poppa sighed turning around and giving me an exasperated look. I shot him a pleading look my fear making me push the boundaries tonight.

"Poppa," I persisted looking at him beseechingly hoping he wouldn't get mad but this was serious, a monster might eat me and then Clay would have to play with Daniel and if that happened Clay would kill Daniel, he deserved it but still.

"I'll take care of it dad," my father said. My poppa looked like he was about to protest and then shook his head looking tired. Usually he didn't give up this easily but he seemed more tired than usually lately. A lot of things had gone on at work in the past few weeks I had heard and it was getting to him.

"Don't make him soft Antonio," my poppa warned. He wasn't entirely comfortable with letting my father take the reins with raising me. He did most of that and my father was like my brother but especially lately he had wanted to take over. Although my poppa was resisting he let daddy do what he wanted every once in a while maybe to let him prove himself.

"Of course not," my father sighed. Poppa gave one last warning look to my father before he left the room closing the door softly.

"You can be as soft as you want Nicky," my father whispered to me as soon as he was gone and I smiled. My poppa wanted me to be tough and strong like him but daddy said I could be whatever I wanted to be and whoever I wanted to be so I took daddy's advice on this one.

My father stood over me and picked me up under the armpits lifting me up and setting me on the blue shag carpet. I had picked this carpet for my room because I loved blue and because it squished through my toes making them feel warm all the time. Daddy then took my hand stepping towards the closet, I wanted to resist but my daddy was one of the biggest and toughest werewolves I knew so he could take on anyone. I walked slightly behind him as he opened the door and looked inside with me. My closet was almost as big as my room and as I looked around all I saw was my stuff, shirt hanging from drawers, my school uniforms hanging in the closet and boxes piled with some old clothes I didn't wear anymore. Poppa said we'd give to Jeremy for Clay because Clay was much smaller than me and he would fit easily into them. Plus he said it would help Jeremy out too, they didn't tell me this but I knew that Jeremy didn't have as much money as we did. That was ok with me, I liked Clay a lot he was my best friend in the pack.

"See Nicky," daddy grinned down at me gesturing to the inside of the empty closet waving his hands dispelling the air a bit. Suddenly he picked me up and setting me on his hip he danced into the closet with me swinging us around the massive space and twirling us in circles. I laughed and giggled as he danced us out of the closet and back to the bed dipping me before he threw me back onto the bed and jumping onto it himself laughing.

Looking back on my daddy when I was a kid I realize how young he was and how young he sometimes acted with me. I used to get mad at my poppa for not letting him raise me but when I do remember these times I realize how my dad really wasn't ready for this yet. He loved me but he was just a kid himself when he had me. Although I knew he would have tried his hardest he needed poppa there to help out and now as an adult I am grateful for how my poppa handled the situation.

"Feel better," he asked. I nodded as he pulled the covers on my bed back and picking me up he slid me under the sheets. He pulled the blankets up to my chest and tucking me in tightly, wrapped me up like a mummy he always said.

"Good night Nicky, I love you," he told me giving me a hug and kissing me on the forehead. He ruffled my hair and grinned down into my face love shining through his human eyes and possession and protection shining from his wolfs eyes.

"Love you daddy," I answered as he stood again stretching. His pyjama shirt pulled up and I saw his muscles. He wasn't as muscled then as he is now but even then my father had more the usual muscle. As a little boy I always felt I would be just like him meaning just as muscled, unfortunately, I'm built differently than my dad and am even a head taller than him. It doesn't bother me as much now as it did when I was a teenager.

"Daddy," I suddenly said looking around a bit frightened that I would be by myself again. What if the monster came back?

"Um," he asked looking down at me. I sat up a bit struggling to get out of the tight hold my father had made with the blankets around me.

"Sleep with me," I asked pleadingly. He looked down at me and was about to say something when I interrupted pleading in my voice.

"Please daddy, you'll be with Jeremy all weekend and I'll miss you," I begged, that did it and he groaned and strolled over to the light switch flicking out the lights. He walked back to the bed pulling off his shirt as he went leaving only his boxers and crawled in beside me taking the blankets and wrapping them around us both. I usually went with him to visit Clay but my poppa wanted me to stay home this weekend to play with Daniel when the Santos' came over for some reason or another. I didn't like it but I had to do as he said.

"You little manipulator," my father chuckled scooping me to his side and wrapping his big arms around me. Warmth enveloped me as he held me tightly. I sniffed in his smell and felt instantly safe.

"You taught me," I grinned snuggling my face into his stomach to sleep sighing contently.

"Nicky you know a werewolf could trounce anything under your bed or in your closet or anywhere else for that matter. Not that there is anything in your room, but if there was a werewolf could trounce it easily," he informed me and I nodded knowing this information.

"I know you told me that before," I whispered sleepily. He made a noise in his throat that I couldn't interrupt but I was too tired to ask about before falling into a deep and peaceful dream.


End file.
